Czech Business Today

The Commission of President-elect Ursula von der Ley­en wishes to ensure that regulation is targeted, easy to comply with and does not add unnecessary regulatory burden. Czech businesses could not agree more but call for greater ambition. They would rather see a ‚one in – two out‘ or even ‚one in – three out‘ principle than a simple ‚one in-one out‘.

The Commission should not count the quantity of acts but the net costs savings. The adoption of a new act which entails net costs for companies must be offset by repealing or amending regulations producing savings of an equivalent amount (double or triple). Law-making must be improved throu­gh the whole policy cycle; going from thorough impact assessments (that must be updated when there are substantial amendments), consultations, better imple­mentation and evaluation. In its letter to the Commission, the Czech Chamber of Commerce came up with various proposals for improvements. One of them is to anchor legislative obligations in the form of an annexe to any legislative act summarizing the obligations resulting from the law. It is also the intention of the Czech Republic.

The Czech Parliament is now discussing the proposal of the Legal Electronic System, initiated by the Czech Chamber of Commerce. The aim is to allow businesses to have an electronic calendar which will display day by day the legal obligations they have to comply with. The Czech Chamber of Commerce also pleads for less administrative burden on businesses when providing services abroad, be it notifications or posting. According to the Chamber survey on Internal Market barriers run in September, 73% of Czech businesses would welcome the creation of a single point of contact in the Member States, certifying a firm‘s ability to provide services in that country to facilitate demonstration of the ability to provide services in other EU countries. Respondents would also welcome simpler rules for posting. It will be very difficult and sometimes impossible for posting firms to find out how the remuneration of posted workers should be set. Next year, the new rules on posting enter into force.

The Czech Chamber of Commerce asks the Commission to create an online “calculator” that calculates the re­muneration for posted entrepreneurs and is accessible for any business across Europe. Businesses would also appreciate that Member States stop requiring the A1 form when on a short business trip. For the moment, there are excessive controls in this regard with high sanctions. Last but not least, a standardised pan-European VAT return form in the native language – linked to the envisaged definitive VAT collection regime – would be welcome by Czech entrepreneurs. Enforcement is also important and we need more efficient infringement procedures (e.g. setting ambitious deadlines for delivering decisions.). In the last years, we saw different treatment from different Member States. This should not happen anymore.